If you are planning a caesarean, or just want to be prepared in case one should be needed, it is worth considering what your options are and making a caesarean birth plan

Is having you baby turned the right option for you?

External Cephalic Version (ECV) should be offered to you if your baby is breech at the end of pregnancy. There are risks and benefits to having your baby turned. If your baby is successfully turned then a vaginal birth would then be planned, but if a problem occurred during the procedure an immediate caesarean would be required.

Many women are led to believe that a vaginal breech birth is very dangerous and a caesarean is safe. This is misleading and inaccurate information. A baby being breech does increases the risk at a birth, but a caesarean does not completely remove those risks and has risks of it own. Having a caesarean also increases the risks during pregnancy and birth of future babies.

Many women who decide that a vaginal breech birth is the right option for them, then struggle to find experienced midwives to support the birth of their baby. Because so many breech babies are now born by caesarean, our midwives are losing their skill and confidence in supporting breech birth. There are midwives with these skills, but you may have to be assertive about getting the support you have a right to expect.